Editorial: Police unions lose on bottling up misconduct records

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, received a “Free Speech Champion Award” from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in Sacramento on Feb. 5.

Photo: John Diaz /

Police unions aren’t winning the way they used to in bottling up records of officer misconduct. After a law took effect in January requiring open records, unions went to court to thwart such transparency, a tactic that’s just received a stinging setback.

A Los Angeles judge ruled against the local union, which argued older records shouldn’t be covered by the new law, a claim that would mean officers now on the force effectively would be shielded for past misdeeds.

The ruling, which is subject to appeal, goes alongside other rulings on the law, SB 1421 by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat. It’s likely the issue will be passed along to the state Supreme Court for a final decision.

Opening up misconduct files is essential to examining interactions between the public and law enforcement. Civilians should have the right to know the background of an officer involved in a shooting, use-of-force case or other incidents of misconduct. Hiding such information, which unions have doggedly sought to do for years, feeds distrust, especially in an era of high-profile shootings and racially charged conflicts with police that are caught on video.

Related Stories

The Los Angeles ruling took aim at the heart of police union strategy, which claimed older misconduct records aren’t specifically covered by the new law. The judge declared the law clearly intended to include prior incidents as part of the measure.

Missing in action in this debate is Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California’s top cop and a figure generally outspoken on civil liberties. He’s declined to enforce the law, which touches on his own Justice Department agents, saying the legal challenges need to finish up. That’s one way to play it. But a better way would be to advocate for open access.

This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.